*Says “Why is Yoshi’s Island #1 on our list? Because it represents the ideal all video games should pursue when it comes to visuals — create a unique style all your own, then back it up with the best technology available”*

*Ranks Bioshock in the 20’s on same list*

I think this list is by and large pretty good. But if this is the “ideal” for visual design, I don’t know how Bioshock can be outside the top 5.

Not saying Bioshock is definitively in the top 5 (although I would probably put it there). I’m saying that if that’s your criteria, it’s tough to name 5 games who did it better than Bioshock. A lot of those other games may look good, but ultimately, they didn’t have any “unique style.”

It is, but it wasn’t anything impressive technically — the list was specifically designed so it wouldn’t be laden with recent stylish indie games. Fez isn’t on the list either. Or Child of Light. That said, I’ll admit, if there’s a mistake on this list it’s the lack of Journey.

Agreed, Nate – Journey is an incredible game, but not because of the graphics. Its somewhat minimalist environment, while a definite plus, doesn’t lend it to showing off too much graphically. Everything that made the game as beautiful as it is comes more from the variety of the level design and the beyond-perfect music. Dat ending.

Using the reasoning by which lots of other games made this list, FF7 DEFINITELY deserves to be here. Amazing character and environment design + the FMV was ballin at the time. PS1 era games have essentially all aged badly but that didn’t stop them from including Crash Bandicoot.

All good entries. I particularly like the idea of Starcraft. That game blew my mind when it came out and was still in heavy use 10 years later without looking horribly out of date. Consider how much the systems it was played on changed during that period and it really stands out.

I told myself I wasn’t going to get involved…but you can’t seriously make a list like this and NOT include Super Mario RPG. That game showed the SNES off like no other game – hell, it was a 16 bit cartridge that completely owned certain 32 bit CD-ROM games. There are very few games where I’ve just sat back and marveled at what technology put on my TV screen, and this is one of them.

I realize this list was probably constructed a while ago so including it wasn’t possible, but the new Mario Kart is one of the most (if not the most) visually impressive games I’ve seen. I thought squishy, cartoony Nintendo characters had hit a plateau on the Wii (specifically in Mario Galaxy) but that’s clearly not the case. Every one of the courses looks like it could almost exist in the real world.

Great list. I thought for sure this list would make up for the shunning of Little Big Planet on your greatest console games of the past generation but it’s still a no-show. Am I missing something in the criterial? Have you never played the games? Is it number 51? Also curious about the lack of Okami and Ico.

Such an original looking game and so gorgeous… so beautiful… so… It is being remade!!!!! AWESOME!!!!

# 3 is the Super Mario World.

That had so many colors… the 16-bit revolution was here, which is why…

# 4

Sonic 2 – I will agree here. The amount of color, the animation, and the speed… all together… it was like nothing ever seen before (including Sonic 1). It was so much more detailed. One would really have to slow it down to see the level of detail.

# 5

Majora’s Mask

I believe Ocarina of Time is probably the best game of all time. That being said, Majora’s Mask is a better looking game. It is more detailed than OoT. It has crazier, better, stranger ideas when it comes to Visual Design.

Pretty good list, and I know it is all opinion/subjective…but I find the inclusion of some games puzzling.

After Mario 64, most everything on the N64 was going to be less and less of a technical marvel. Mario 64 came first and it made 3D feel legitimate in the video game world, and it did it better than most of the titles that followed. Sure, Ocarina of Time was more of a connected and much more open world – but was it really that much more of a technical spectacle? And as for aesthetically holding up over time…I’m sorry but in my opinion Ocarina of Time is butt ugly. And Conker’s Bad Fur Day? Really? That’s just a game that is below what the other two I just mentioned brought to the table.

I guess I’m just butthurt that Okami and Valkyria Chronicles didn’t make the list. Granted, they’re not really technically impressive (well, VC’s CANVAS graphics engine most certainly is) but they aesthetically hold up – and will continue to do so – over time.

Why you have DmC on this list as a game that meets either of your 2 criteria is beyond me. That game is relatively pretty with some interesting art design (for the levels anyway) but I wouldn’t say it stands out very much from the majority of the other games of the PS3/X360 gen. (The characters, dialogue, etc. in DmC are pure grabage, however.)

Same for Crash Bandicoot – it is colorful and neat, but I don’t think it stands out that much from other games of its era.

Okay on second thought, Conker’s is probably the prettiest N64 game but it was also at the tail end of the console’s lifecycle. And the PS2 was already on the streets by then. So, not really technically impressive unless we’re talking about maximizing the power of an aged console… (Same can be said of Shadow of the Colossus and The Last of Us, but I love those two games so nothing bad will be said about either!)

Okami effectively brought sumi-e to life. For a list naming Yoshi’s Island #1 because of its ability to create its own quirky art style and own it, to not throw Okami a bone and include it at all is pretty bad.

If I’m not mistaken, there’s not a single Dreamcast game on this list. Seems an obvious oversight, considering that DC games were easily the best-looking at their time, even compared to most first gen PS2 titles. Shenmue and Jet Set Radio come to mind, obviously.

As for 2D games, Street Fighter 3rd Strike and Toonstruck are up there. Superb animation.

“Why is Yoshi’s Island #1 on our list? Because it represents the ideal all video games should pursue when it comes to visuals — create a unique style all your own, then back it up with the best technology available (Yoshi’s Island was secretly the most technically advanced game on the SNES). That’s what making great-looking games is all about.”

If that is your ranking basis, then you should include Spacewar, made in 1961 on the PDP-1. Or any other shitty looking game that was a pioneer and call it “best looking”.

The list is fine…because it’s your opinion. But the idea of the list…I give 1 out of 4 Yoshi Egg Poops.

Frig yeah, Yoshi’s Island. I’m playing that right now. GTA V can go blow itself. Video games now are too serious and realistic. The physics engines out there now have made most video games unenjoyable for me. I dont want to play something that feels real.

Gameplay-wise it’s still a great game, I have friends who still rock Mercenaries on 4 rather than 5 or 6. And the graphics were great at the time but one of the best looking games of all time? Depends on how you feel about various shades of brown and grey, I guess.

come on… Crysis 1 beats most next gen games and Crysis 3 is the best example of what a game can look like when done right. Best looking game ever, far from the best game tho. This is however a list of good looking games, not fun ones. =)